The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry–the British RIAA-like organization that sent us our first cease-and-desist letter–is getting ready to crack down on Internet service providers that allow file-sharing on their networks:

The music industry opened up a new front in the war on online music piracy yesterday, threatening to sue internet service providers that allow customers to illegally share copyrighted tracks over their networks.

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, or IFPI, said it would take action against internet companies that carry vast amounts of illegally shared files over their networks. It stressed that it would prefer not to pursue such a strategy and is keen to work in partnership with internet providers. …

The IFPI wants ISPs to disconnect users who refuse to stop exchanging music files illegally. Mr Kennedy said such activity is in breach of a customer’s contract with the ISP and disconnecting offenders the IFPI had identified would significantly reduce illegal file sharing.

This sounds like one of those bright ideas that was born from the minds of people who have no idea about technology–what will the process for finding these users involve? Sniffing traffic on ports that are used for BitTorrent, or monitoring visits to sites like ZShare and YouSendIt? What about material that’s licensed under alternative copyright tools like Creative Commons? Unsurprisingly, British Internet service providers are bristling at this suggestion; we’re just waiting to see what supremely geeky revenge some enterprising hacker will inflict on the IFPI for this latest hair-brained scheme.

Music industry threatens ISPs over piracy [The Independent]